Watch | No one is checking certificates of people arriving from Kerala to Karnataka

 

Notwithstanding Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s statement of enhancing vigil at the Kerala-Karnataka border as a new variant of COVID-19 entered the State, there was neither screening nor checking at Talapady on NH 66 near Mangaluru on November 29.

When

The Hindu visited the border between 7.45 a.m. and 8 a.m., a few police personnel were seated on the roadside while vehicles from Kerala were entering Karnataka without the occupants being asked to show vaccination and RT-PCR certificates.

Personnel at the Talapady check post said that screening would start from 8 a.m.

Thousands of people travel from Kerala to Karnataka every day for employment and education. Even otherwise, the neighbouring districts of Kasargod in Kerala and Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka enjoy close cultural, linguistic and economic bonds.

On November 28, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra had admitted to laxity in screening in the last one month, and added that round-the-clock screening and checking would be in place in border areas.

He had proposed maintaining a list of daily commuters and checking their RT-PCR certification at regular intervals while occasional travellers must carry RT-PCR negative certificate even if they are fully vaccinated.